You can’t have a bad start to the EURO. The goal was scored 23 seconds later.
Despite this huge false start, defending champions Italy won the first Test of this final round.
“It was a shock,” admits Federico Chisa candidly when asked about the opening goal – the fastest goal in European Championship history. “It was very difficult after that start. But it was an extraordinary reaction from us. Today we showed great quality and showed our skills. It’s a big win,” said Cheesa.
Spalletti: “Since I’ve been a coach, I’ve always been told …”
In their first final in three years, the Italians, coached by Luciano Spalletti, had to digest an early shock experience. A disaster by Federico DiMarco into his own box rewarded Bajrami, who finished powerfully over the shoulder of star goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. The predominantly Albanian fans in Dortmund’s arena cheered wildly.
But the happiness did not last long. The 2021 European Championship champion made up for the false start with steady pressure, with Alessandro Bastoni (11th) and Niccolò Parella (16th) righting the situation again.
“Being a coach, I’m always told that the most important thing is to win. No, the most important thing is to play well. If we want to win EURO 2024, we have to play good football,” said team president Spalletti.
His analysis: “We were a bit deep in the first half and that allowed Albania to use their physicality and get the ball into the mix. We have to stick to our style – that’s the way forward.”
Ceesa: “In the future we have to learn to finish the game”
With Italy lacking early-stage talent, Albania can expect another stroke of luck. Because of the score, the story was emotional. When there was already little to suggest the score would be 2-2, the Eastern Europeans had their best chance to equalise. Donnarumma denied Reg Manaj from a tight angle (90′) who eluded his guards after a long ball.
“In the future, we have to learn to finish the game when we have the chance – otherwise you will always be in danger like we were in the last minutes of the game,” says Chiesa.
In the Hammers Group B, Italy and Spain opened the scoring with a 3-0 win over Croatia. The southern European battle for group victory will take place on Thursday (9pm live ticker).
“Spain will probably line up differently than Albania and put more pressure on us. We need to move the ball faster than we did tonight. Against Spain we need to move the ball forward and try to play balls behind the defense”, Spalletti gives. path.
This is Italy’s final EURO team
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